Chasing The Clouds
by The Blue Darling
Summary: On a quiet night at the hospital, a young boy is brought in, and steal Carlisle and Esme's dead hearts. But can they keep him, or is the quiet boy too mysterious? And can they get through his shield, and face his dark past?
1. Chapter 1

Written by The Blue Darling

Edited by my beta Jules Ann

* * *

 **Chasing The Clouds**

Chapter 1

 _Carlisle's P.O.V_

* * *

 _23 November 2014_

Deeply frustrated I looked on my desk.

The paperwork seemed endless, and these day's I used more time in the office than the ER where I should be. I admit Forks didn't have a lot of patients so there wasn't much to do, except paperwork, but still I should be out there saving lives.

Thankfully, that would change soon. Just in two weeks Forks would be behind us, and Esme and I would be on our way to Portland. The house was bought, the furniture ordered, and I was already hired at Portland's hospital…

Finally able to do something else, other than paperwork. This time I would just be a regular doctor instead of the Chief of ER, so there wouldn't be half as much paperwork as now. Instead I could focus on what I was good at, and leave all this _crap_ to someone else.

Irritated I threw my pen away, and decided it was enough for today. There was still an hour until I could leave, and Doctor Snow would take the next shift, but I could just as well take a round on the hospital and check on everybody. There were no patients at this point, and my only patient today had been a ten-year-old boy who needed a checkup.

But I took a small walk anyway , talked a bit with the nurses Margot and Jenny, before I made sure everything was prepared in case of an emergency. This was really one of the slowest days on this hospital so far, and I really considered if I should just take off. Esme was at home waiting for me, and I could use a good hunt.

But I had to wait until Dr. Snow came in… just in case of an emergency. So patiently I walked back to my office, and found a good book on my shelf, so I could kill some time before I could call it a day. I knew Esme wanted me home too, since she didn't have much to do either, but for now we were just stuck in that world… at least until we moved.

After Alice and Jasper decided to study in New York, things began to get quiet at home. Rosalie and Emmett were there too, but I guess Alice made more noise than I just thought, and our family picture shattered. Rosalie and Emmett were adults, not children, and it was always Alice who wanted our comfort as parents, so when they left… so did our parental use.

Rosalie and Emmett followed just a half-year later, saying they wanted to study in Europe, France to be specific, and so they left too. This last year after they all left had been so quiet for Esme and me. Suddenly there were no children to take care of, or any news from school… or just Emmett's laughter once in a while. The house was empty, and Esme's garden couldn't take all her time.

That was our main reason for moving. In Portland there was much more we could do, and Esme has already made contact with a furniture company. They needed a new designer to get some fresh ideas, and Esme needed to get out of the house, so she wouldn't be so sad at home. She missed our children dearly, but at the same time we both understood they were adults and needed their own life.

So neither of us could wait to get away from here. It had only been five years, but the last one had been too long, and we both needed to get out to be alive again. Forks had been great in the start and the house was wonderful, but now I missed a bit more excitement and life.

Today I actually stopped myself more than once to remember why we didn't move before now… and there was no answer. Esme and I just thought things would change if we just stayed where we were… but things don't change if we don't.

I realized that now.

Halfway through my book, I heard noises outside my office close to the entrance. One voice was without doubt Margot's, while another one sounded like Charlie Swan; Chief of Police… did he get hurt?

Sometimes it was a good thing to be a vampire, as we have the sensitive hearing, along with the speed. Right now I didn't need the speed, but the hearing was great, as I could hear not just two but three different heartbeats. That meant someone else was out there, and curious, I decided to see what was happening. Quickly and gracefully I left my book at the table before I left my office, and found Chief Swan at the entrance.

Charlie Swan had been a policeman for years, and all the time I had been here. He was the closest I would come to a friend, since he often was here to interview patients, if there had been an accident or a fight. I didn't know much about him, except he lived alone, until last year when Sue moved in with her children. A nurse once told me he was married years ago to a woman named Renee, and they had a child, but both moved away, and Charlie rarely saw his child anymore.

I knew what that felt like, I hadn't seen any of my children since last Christmas, and they only called once a month.

"What's the matter here?" I asked, as I made my presence known since none of them seemed to notice me. Both were speaking in hushed voices, in front of the door, and turned with surprise as they heard my voice.

"Doctor Cullen," smiled Margot, and was the first to response. "I was just about to get you," she said, and looked over on someone sitting in a chair, not far behind them. "I think we need a bit help," she whispered softly, and looked on Charlie, who looked on me.

And for the first time I looked on the third person, the third heartbeat I could hear from my office. It was faster than the others, and just by the sound I could see a small little heart in my head, beating rapidly… out of fear unfortunately.

The little heart belonged to a little boy, no more than four years old, who was sitting patiently in a chair, waiting on Charlie and Margot. From such a distance he couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was clearly they were keeping an eye on him, and speaking in hushed voices so he wouldn't hear what they were saying. His young eyes were however watching them carefully, seeing every move they made, and from time to time he would look at the door…

Was he trying to escape? My first thought was this was Sue's kid, and Charlie brought him here because something was wrong… but he was still wearing his uniform, and I knew Sue's kids were older. So this was someone Charlie brought here, because it was a part of his job…

"Who is he?" I asked in a hushed voice too, and kept my eyes on him, as I talked to Margot and Charlie.

Because as I looked closer, he was clearly not in a good condition. His body looked a bit too skinny, at least for a child in his age, and his clothes didn't look… well new. They were outworn, with many holes, but I could only see a bit of it, as he was wearing Charlie's coat to keep him warm. He even looked a bit blue, and was holding a small cup of what I assumed was hot chocolate that he carefully sipped on, as he stared back on me with beautiful blue eyes.

"We don't know his name yet as he won't talk to me," confessed Charlie as he eyed the boy. "But we arrested his mother an hour ago as she tried to steal from the supermarket, and ran with him as she saw the police… unfortunately the boy couldn't keep up, and fell… and well I am just here to make sure he's okay," he said, and I suddenly felt very sorry for the boy.

To be honest it looked like he was living on the streets, considered how little clothes he was wearing, and how old and outworn it was. Even his hair looked like it could use a good shower, as what should have been a beautiful brown hair was instead a greasy mess.

"I see," I muttered, and could feel there was something Charlie wasn't telling me because the boy still was here. "Margot why don't you take this young man with you, and make sure he is comfortable and warm?" I suggested, loud enough for the boy to hear, and then I added. "I will be with you shortly."

The translation was, _Margot please take the boy to one of the exam rooms, so Charlie and I can speak freely._

"Of course," smiled Margot, clearly getting the message as she walked over to the boy and offered her hand. "Hi Sweetheart, why don't you come with me, so we can get you warmed up, and perhaps even find a toy on the way?" she suggested.

She offered her hand, but the young scared boy just looked frighten on it before he got down on his own, and followed her. He still kept his hot chocolate with him, and Charlie's coat was like a cape on him that nearly reached the floor.

As soon as they couldn't be seen anymore, I turned around and looked on Charlie, with questions burning in my eyes.

"So, can you give me the full story?" I asked, and needed it if I should be able to communicate with the boy, or at least find out if something was wrong.

"I don't even know the full story yet" admitted Charlie, as he leaned against the desk, deep in thought. "I was on a patrol with Roy, while Jeffery took care of the station, and suddenly we hear someone scream _thief_. We quickly put the lights on, and begin to chase a woman and her child who was running from the store manager with what looked like stolen food," he explained, and looked tired… like this was the end of the world.

"It doesn't sound that horrible," I offered, but Charlie shook his head.

"No stealing is one thing, but the mother was too fast for the child, and he falls… hitting the ground pretty hard. The manager grabs him before he can stand up again, and it stops the mother too, who we get before she can run again," he sighed. "Neither mother or child would say anything, so Roy and I decide to take them to the station to ask a few question. I stayed behind with the boy, to interview the manager, while Jeffery showed up to drive with Roy… just in case she tries to fight them on the way. We decided it was best to keep the child and mother apart, so she couldn't influence him to lie, so he stayed with me…"

"Was he hurt in any way when he fell?" I questioned concerned, as I didn't really get what was so bad yet, but the child was my most important task right now.

"No… not really, just a scrapped knee, and some bruises from what I can see, but he won't talk… so I don't know. Not to mention he was really cold when we got him. From witnesses I know he was waiting outside, while his mother tried to steal from the store, so if you could check his body temperature it would great. He won't let me or any of the cops near him… probably because he is afraid of us, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered you with this" he apologized, and looked a bit ashamed because the child didn't like him, but many children were scared of cops… and doctors.

"Charlie it's no bother," I assured him, and tried to lighten the conversation a bit. "It's better to be safe than sorry, and it's not like I have a lot to do. But please tell me now… what makes this so horrible?" I asked, and could still hear how the young boy's heart was beating rapidly down the hall.

"It's just… when I took him to the police station, I had to make sure he had no evidence of any kind… stolen food perhaps," he explained. "He had this bag with him, so after I checked his pockets and everything I gave him a blanket, and went over to see what was in the bag… and…" Charlie took a deep breath, like he didn't know how to say this. "Carlisle the bag was full of drugs," he sighed. "I took his fingerprints, and searched for them on the packages with heroin, but thankfully he didn't touch them. We did however find his mother's fingerprints all over them, so she clearly placed them there…" he confessed, and looked just as sad as I felt.

I didn't even need to ask… I already understood what happened. This _mother_ was in the drug world, and someone gave her an address where it should delivered. Because children are so innocent, she placed the drugs in her sons bag, so no one would find it… and it angered me deeply she would use him that way. Why she decided to steal food I don't know, but my guess was she didn't get her payment before she returned, and from the boy's clothes, it didn't look like they had any money.

But this also meant a long time in jail, if the mother was found guilty. There wasn't any excuse if her fingerprints were all over the packages, and your own son was caring them… not to mention she walked just beside him. Then stealing on top of it, not to mention she allowed her boy to live under poor conditions… or at least it looked so.

"Do you know how much there was?" I asked as I couldn't help but think of this boy's poor fate.

"Around 3 kilo…" admitted Charlie sadly. "I tried to speak with the boy about it… ask him if he knew anything, but he hasn't said a word… he only screamed when he fell, not a sound since that," he blurted out, clearly upset with all of it as he wasn't used to cases like this. Forks didn't have much crime, only a few rebels now and then, but nothing near this had ever happened before.

"Well I better go and check the boy then," I sighed, and I wasn't going to enjoy this very much. "Do you want to come?" I offered, and thought the child would feel safer, but Charlie shook his head.

"No… he doesn't like me very much, and is mostly scared, I think it will go more… _smooth_ if I stay away. But please, if he says anything tell me," he begged, clearly desperate since neither mother nor son would speak.

"Well then I will come out with him when he is finished," I promised, and pointed at a chair. "Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable."

With those words I turned around, and walked down the hall until I reached the exam room he was in. Margot never told me which one they would choose, but I could hear his small rapid heartbeat, and could have found them with closed eyes.

Carefully I opened the door to see if everything was okay, and I found the boy sitting on the padded examination table. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but I guess it was better than nothing, and with the blanket wrapped around him he looked comfortable enough. Margot had as promised found one of the hospitals teddy bears that we mostly used for cases like this… were the child was uncomfortable. The boy however didn't look like he was going to appreciate the gesture a lot, since it was as far away from him as it could get.

Margot was sitting beside him on a chair, and it looked like she was speaking to him until I stepped inside, and the boy moved slightly away from me.

"Well hello you two," I greeted in a nice light voice, and tried to look as nice as I could. I wasn't wearing my white doctor coat, so perhaps he wouldn't know I was a doctor… as I feared this might not go so easy.

There was no reply, except for Margot who gave me a smile, and shook her head sadly behind his back… so he still didn't speak.

With a smile I took a stool and rolled it over on the other side of the table, so Margot and I were sitting on each side. I could see he was following every move I made, like he expected me to hit him or suddenly do something unexpected.

"Well my name is Carlisle," I presented, and pointed to Margot. "And this nice lady over here is Margot," I said with a smile. "Now could you tell me what you name is?" I asked with my most sweet and soft voice, and looked on him with pleading eyes.

But he just stared back on me, afraid, scared… and most of all he looked very lonely, but not one sound left his mouth. It was clear he understood us, but there was no response, except his small arms that hugged the blue blanket even tighter. He still looked cold, but I could sense he was beginning to warm up.

"You don't have to be afraid, you can tell me your name… nothing bad is going to happen" I promised, and tried to make him feel safe… but this time he only shook his head slightly… I guess that was some kind of response.

"Come on sweetie… we won't hurt you" tried Margot, and as a sweet woman in her fifties no one should see her as dangerous, but the boy moved a bit away from her as she spoke.

"I guess he will speak when he is ready," I sighed and looked on Margot. "Could you please get my bag, you know in my office on the desk? I forgot to take it with me" I explained, and would need it if I wanted to take his temperature, and listen to his heartbeat. This would also give me an opportunity to communicate with the child while she was gone, and perhaps he would be more relaxed with only one in the room. My best guess was he was a bit shocked right now, after being chased by the police, and being in the police station. He probably missed his mother, but I still wondered why he hadn't begged to see her, or cried he wanted his _mommy_.

"Of course" smiled Margot, and she left the room with soft steps. The boy was carefully following her with his eyes, and when she shut the door softly, he looked on me instead.

"Why don't you lie down for a bit?" I suggested and thought it would be a good idea for him to relax for a bit.

He looked a bit scared and skeptical, but lied down as I helped him, and even accepted when I placed the blanket on top of him. I even tried to give him the teddy bear, but he looked on it like he didn't know what to do with it.

"Do you have any more hot chocolate left?" I asked nicely, but didn't expect an answer, so instead I saw the cup beside him was empty. It would be good for him to get some more fluids, and something warm, so a glass of water and hot chocolate wouldn't hurt him. "Would you like some more?" I asked with a smile, and hoped on a verbal response.

But instead he looked on me with some kind of doubt… like he thought I was joking, but then slowly he nodded, and moved a bit as if he was ready to jump.

"Very well," I smiled, and tried to ignore how frustrated it made me when he refused to talk. Instead I took his empty paper cup, and went over to the sink were I filled it with water. "If you drink this, I will send Margot out to make hot chocolate when she comes back," I promised and held the water out to him.

Without so much as just nodding, he snapped the cup out of my hands, and emptied it in seconds. I suddenly realized the poor thing was in seriously need of water, and probably food, and with a bleeding heart I offered him more water, but this time he shook his head and refused.

A few seconds later Margot got back with my things, and placed the bag on a small table beside me. I thanked her for her help and sent her out to make the hot chocolate, just as I promised him and wondered if I should ask for some hot food too. But for now I would just get the checkup over with, and give him the hot chocolate as a reward, and then we could discuss real food… something he was in need of.

When she left again, I found my thermometer as the first thing and tried to give the boy a reassuring smile.

"So buddy, I just want to take your temperature with this, is that okay?" I asked and showed him the thermometer so he wouldn't get scared. He looked on it with doubt and fear for a moment, before he slowly nodded allowing me to get closer.

He looked a bit confused at first like he never had tried this before, and when I tried to stick it into his ear he moved his head confused. With a bit force I moved it back and made a few calming sounds, as I waited on the result, and he gasped with a shock as the thermometer beeped.

"That was one ear, let's try the other," I smiled and quickly read the number, before I made him turn his head. This time he looked more prepared and wasn't as scared as before, but he still looked shocked when it beeped…

A sign no one had taken his temperature before, and he probably never had a checkup by a doctor.

"Well it seems like your warming up," I smiled, and rubbed the blanket against his arm, as I hoped it would warm him even more. His temperature wasn't as low as I thought, but I would prefer if it was closer to normal… but a blanket and a warm room would do it for now.

With elegance I placed the thermometer back into the bag, and found a tongue depressor and a pin light.

"Can you open your mouth for me?" I asked and showed him the tongue depressor. "I am just going to check if everything is alright in there," I explained, and thought I just as well could do a full checkup.

Slowly he opened his mouth a bit, and then a bit more, while he the whole time watched my hands with his eyes. I tried to do it carefully, and slow enough for him to understand, but as soon as the tongue depressor touched his tongue, he moved away and closed his mouth.

"Hey it's not going to hurt," I promised, and tried to move it toward his mouth again. "This little thing is just going to help me see things better that's all," I tried, and carefully he opened his mouth again, and allowed me to take a look.

Hs mouth was clearly in bad shape, and someone didn't brush his teeth very often. This was close to being a dentist nightmare, at least considering it was a child, but hopefully his teeth would look better after someone brushed them thoroughly.

But the rest looked okay, and with an irritated glare he had enough of it, and moved his head away. He was clearly beginning to get a bit grumpy, like a child who was in need of a nap, so I decided to speed things a bit up.

"Okay, so let me just check your eyes," I said to my little patient, and showed him the small flashlight in my hand. He wasn't too happy about it, but at last he allowed me to check his eyes and followed my finger as I asked. His eyes was beginning to get heavy, now that he was warm, and probably was feeling some kind of safety, especially now as the shock was beginning to wear off.

After that I checked his ears, along with his nose, and I was even allowed to take his pulse without too much fuss. He did however move his head irritated now and then and was clearly unhappy about the situation, but cooperated most of the time. What I couldn't get was why he didn't cry, or was not asking for his _mommy_ because that was what most children did, especially when a doctor was involved.

When I took my stethoscope out of the bag, things became too much from him and with an irritated sigh he tried to get down.

"Hey, just a little longer buddy," I promised him and caught him just before he reached the ground. "I just need to listen to you heartbeat, and see that scraped knee Charlie mentioned," I smiled, and placed the earbuds in my ear. I could already hear his heartbeat with my sensitive hearing, but it was better to follow procedure as normal as possible, even when it was a young boy.

He had already unwrapped himself from the blanket, so I carefully lifted his shirt, and was surprised to see just how starved he was. I could easily count his ribs, and the only good thing was I couldn't see any handprints, or things would have been a lot worse.

"Now take a deep breath for me," I ordered as I placed the bell on his chest. He looked confused and scared for a moment, before he took a deep breath as I ordered and then one more. His little heart was beating too fast, but that was what could be expected… it had been a long day for him after all.

"Very good;" I praised, and placed the bell on his back. "Now I just need to listen to you lungs, so please take a deep breath again," I said and was glad to hear everything sounded as it should.

I wondered a bit what happened to Margot, and how hot chocolate could take so long to make, but my best guess was she thought he would be less scared if it only was one and not two.

"Now we just to look on your scrapped knee," I smiled, and thought it would help him to know we were near finished, but it seemed like this was already more than enough.

Once more he tried to get down, and it was only because I pushed him back onto the table he stayed. He gave me an irritated and tired stare, that slowly became pleading and helpless and I felt sorry for him. He didn't have any influence on his own actions or life right now, and he probably still didn't understand what was going on. His big blue eyes were staring into mine with so much… sadness, I for a moment considered if we should stop.

"Please…"

It took a moment before I realized he was the one who was speaking. His voice was so soft and young, and it was barely more than a pleading whisper, who reminded me of an angels.

"So you do speak," I smiled and had to ignore his pleading, even though small tears were forming in his eyes. He was clearly pushed past the limit, and today had simply been too much for his small body and mind, suddenly I most of all wanted to comfort him, but I had to remember I was his doctor, not his father.

"I… I want home," he said firmly and showed a very poor language for his age. "I… I want…" he stopped, clearly trying to remember the name. "I want bed!" He said to me, and he was clearly trying to tell he was tired, but didn't know the word for it.

Maybe that was why he was so quiet. He didn't know the words for most things and thought it would be better to remain silent, instead of taking the risk and pronounce it wrong. Right now he was only speaking because he really wanted to sleep and was desperate.

"I know," I sighed and squeezed his hand in comfort. "But I need to look at your knee first, and Charlie really needs to know who you are, so he can help you" I told him, as I carefully looked on the knee. It didn't look that bad, but it looked very irritable and hurtful and bruises were forming around it. His jeans were anyway already destroyed, as there had been created a huge hole around the knee, so I decided it was okay to cut a bit more away with my scissors, so I could work.

As I made the hole bigger, the boy looked thoughtful at me… deciding if he should tell me who he was, or not. As I put gloves on, he was still staring on me, now with confusion… like he was thinking hard. It wasn't before I got water and soap, he finally opened his mouth.

"What… what if I… no one?" He asked innocent, and it took me a moment to realize what he was saying.

 _What if I am no one?_

"Well everybody is someone," I told him and wondered how a boy in his age could ask something so deep. "As an example I am Carlisle, and I work at the hospital," I explained and hoped he understood that. At the same time I care full began to clean his knee and saw he made a face as it hurt a lot.

"But…"

I could see he was trying hard to find a word for what he was feeling, but this boy's biggest problem was he didn't know a lot of words. It was also clear, that even though he understood everything I said he wasn't going to pronounce the word before he knew how to say it perfectly. Right now he was trying to look in the library of words he knew, and find something useful, but it looked like there was none.

After I finished cleaning his knee, I found my flashlight, and looked for gravel and dirt. Thankfully there was nothing left, and I began to apply antibiotic ointment, so there wouldn't be any infection.

"Everybody is _someone_ ," I told him, as it was clear he couldn't come up with the words he needed. "Why don't you tell me you name, than I can help you tell Charlie, so you can go to sleep?" I suggested, and knew this was a bit evil trick, but we needed his name.

But this time he didn't answer, but only shook his head to say no. But now, when he finally was speaking, I wasn't going to accept that.

"Come on," I tried, and placed a Band-Aid on his knee. "There is no need not to tell. People are only trying to help you, and you would help them so much if you told your name," I smile, and was really trying hard to make it sound as a positive thing. "You want to help right?"

"Yes…" he nodded slowly, but still looking very unsure.

"Then tell us your name, and we can help you," I begged, and closed my bag. "You can go to sleep right after you told this, but we really need it in order to help you." I explained and tried to repeat _help you_ as many times as possible.

This time it really looked like he was thinking. He even opened his mouth a few times, before he closed it again, looking sadly on me… but at last he finally answered.

"I… no name," he tried to explain and at first I didn't understand it, but then I saw the shame in his eyes and realized what he was trying to explain.

"You have no name?" I asked confused, and couldn't imagine how that was possible. If he was in the system, as a citizen, someone would have required a name at some point… but perhaps he wasn't even born at a hospital.

"No…" he answered softly, and looked down on his hands… like he should be ashamed because of it. "No name… so, no one," he tried to explain me and I wondered if someone had tried to explain him he wasn't a part of the system, so he didn't exist, or what? Where did this _I am no one_ thing come from?

I was still a bit shocked that he didn't have a name. It was a very rare thing to hear, and as a vampire even I hadn't tried this before.

"Well, what does your mom call you then?" I asked, and perhaps he did have a name, he just didn't realize it. "She must call you something, to get you attention." I explained and could feel he was uncomfortable as I mentioned his mother.

"Boy… she call boy," he said, again looking ashamed on his hands, like it was his fault. "But… that no name," he said, as a single tear fell down.

"No… no it's not," I sighed, still in shock… how could a mother just call his son _boy_? "And that's the only thing she call's you?" I asked, and tried to make sure he didn't forget something, even though it didn't sound very likely.

"No… just boy," he answered. "Can I… can I go bed… please?" He pleaded, clearly asking if he could go to sleep. He looked more than ready to at least a small nap and even though I wanted to ask a few more questions, it was clear he needed sleep… badly.

"Of course," I told with a soft smile, as I lifted the blanket. "You can just sleep here, while I speak with Charlie." I smiled and helped him lie down. I carefully placed the blue blanket on top of him and then I folded the other blanket into a small pillow for his head. He yawned tiredly and rubbed his eyes… but after that they closed and he fell into a peaceful sleep.

After I made sure he was fast asleep, and wouldn't wake up anytime soon, I grabbed Charlie's coat and closed the door softly. As I walked back to find Charlie, I again wondered where Margot went, when I found her talking to Charlie… and both looked very concerned.

"Hello you two," I greeted as they saw me, and gave Charlie his coat back. "Is everything alright?" I asked curious, as they both began to look a bit nervous.

"Well umm… everything is not _really_ alright, but how is the boy?" Asked Margot and I suddenly eyed the cup with what once was _hot_ chocolate, now it was just cold. "Oh yeah, I was just about to knock on the door, when I heard he finally was speaking… so I thought it was best to stay away" she explained, as she saw my curious stare, and that made a bit more sense in my head.

The boy was too tired to drink anything anyways; someone just had to give it to him later as a reward if I wasn't near.

"I see," I smiled, and quickly understood. "And the boy is physically fine… his mental state I can't answer. He needs to gain some weight and should see a dentist, but apart from that he is fine. I have cleaned his knee and gave him a quick checkup… so no problems." I smiled and could see how relived both of them was, even though none of us really knew him.

"Well… did he speak, what did he say?" Asked Charlie, clearly interested in any fact I could give him… even though he was going to be disappointed.

"Well umm…" I muttered, and tried to find out what was necessary to say. "We didn't speak much, but it was clear he can't speak well. He doesn't know many words and won't use any knew before he master them… so I fear it was short. But from what I could understand he has no name… why I can't explain, but I doubt he was born at a hospital, or is a part of the system," I sighed, and could clearly see surprise written in Charlie's face.

"He… has no name?" he asked slowly, clearly confused. "But what do they call him them?" he exclaimed, and looked on Margot who was just as confused, and looked on me.

"Well… he said his mother called him _boy_ , but that was it" I told, and tried to hide my own emotions but it was hard.

"Dear Lord," Margot sighed clearly shocked.

"I guess I have to inform that to social service… perhaps they can pick a name," muttered Charlie, and ran a hand thought his hair.

So it ended with the foster system? Not that I could see any other solution, since the mother clearly couldn't take care of her child, and his scrapped knee wasn't enough to hospitalized, I mean the boy didn't even have fever. It did however hurt my heart, that this young soul was going to be thrown into a foster family, probably with many other kids, when he most of all needed a quiet home where he could open up.

"When are they going to come and get him?" I asked, already sad because I knew he would be so scared. "I suppose he could stay here with me in my office, at least until they arrive… you know, so he don't have to be at the police station." I explained, and was already planning he could sleep on my couch instead. It would be much more comfortable, and then I could get him a real pillow.

"Yeah… umm, that's our problem," coughed Charlie, and was clearly nervous again. "I called social service while you were in there, and they can't come and get him before… Friday," he said, and this time it was my turn to be surprised.

"But that five days!" I exclaimed. "How can they not come?" I questioned, clearly upset, and now I felt even more sorry for the boy.

"Yes, I don't get it either. But the lady said they didn't have anywhere to put him, and everyone was too buzzy to drive eight hours to get here and get home," sighed Charlie, as he shook his head. "That system hasn't done well since Mark took over here in Seattle… now it's just my problem until they come up with something, and I can't have a kid at the police station, it's not right or safe," he sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"And we can't keep a child at the hospital either" added Margot. "He isn't sick, and could only catch something if he stays," she pointed out, and I could only agree with her. The hospital wasn't for healthy people, unless they wanted to be sick.

"Then what are you going to do with him?" I asked concerned, because this little boy touched my heart somewhere. "We can't just leave him… someone has to take care of him" I sighed, and really wished Jasper was here to calm my nerves down.

"Well it's not because he can't stay at my home… but with Leah and Seth around I don't think it's a good idea," explained Charlie, and to be honest I couldn't see him take care of the boy. "And he is scared of me already, so I can't really see how it should work out… not to mention I don't have a lot of experience with kids" admitted Charlie, as he was clearly referring to the fact his wife and child left him.

"And I am too old to this," added Margot. "Sorry, but my kids is still living at home, and I doubt my bear of a son will do anything but scare him. To be honest I don't really know how to handle this either, he won't talk to me,"

Then Charlie and Margot looked at each other, having some silent conversation I didn't understand, until Charlie nodded, and turned toward me.

"None of us knows how to handle him Carlisle," he began, and I suddenly began to feel where this was going. "But you and your wife… you have adopted four wonderful children, I mean you must know how to handle this," he tried, and now I clearly knew where this was going. "And they are all spread over the world now, so your house is empty… it's just you and Esme, I mean it would be the perfect environments for him" he smiled, and Margot was nodding beside him.

"So we thought he could stay there" she said softly, and suddenly I understood why they looked so nervous when I entered.

But should I do this? The real truth was I knew NOTHING about children, and had no idea how to handle them since I never got the chance to be a father. I only knew all the crying children, where I was the big bad doctor… I didn't know how to be a parental figure for a boy.

And Esme would rip me apart if I came home with a strange boy, not even asking her what she thought about it, or if it was okay with her. There was no doubt she would accept the boy, but she would be angry on me for weeks, or at last I thought so.

And could a child even be near vampires? Even if it just were for five days? We would have to pretend we ate human food, at least at some of the meals, and be watched all the time. We couldn't make a step wrong, or he would notice, and then the Volturi would step in.

But then on the other hand, it was just five days, not a life time. We could hunt while he slept… and perhaps…

Perhaps this would be good for us?

I mean, it was me who just complained we didn't have anything to do, but with a child in our hands I wouldn't have enough time. We could finally use some of our parental skills, and give this child five amazing days, were he hopefully would open up a bit.

Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea, and Esme would probably forgive me when she saw the boy.

"Well I guess he could," I answered, and only used a few seconds on thinking, before I answered. In a vampires head all thoughts went in another speed, and for them it would look like there wasn't any doubt.

"Well that would be amazing" smiled Charlie, and he looked relived… but if he just knew he was letting a kid stay with two vampires all alone.

But both of them looked so relived, because they didn't have to take him, and he would be safe or at least I thought so. Being a doctor it was also clear for me, that other kids in the house wouldn't be great for him right now, as he needed to open up and stop being so scared. If there were two annoying teenagers, who complained and was talking all the time, he would just go deeper into himself.

"Is there some papers I need to sign, or something?" I asked, and wasn't even sure how this process usually was.

"Not really right now" said Charlie, and gave me a huge smile. "Social Service will probably want to see something at some point, but they can drag themselves up here if they want to see any of it. For now just take him home, and then I will call if there is anything… I probably need to interview him again anyway" he sighed. I am sure he was probably not looking forward to that conversation, at least not if they boy still wouldn't speak.

"Well then I guess I should get him home," I smiled, feeling proud because I made it sound as his home too. "He is probably tired, and could use a bath." I laughed, but then it suddenly dawned on me that task probably wouldn't be easy.

"Well then I won't disturb anymore" nodded Charlie, and gave us both a goodbye before he left.

"Is Dr. Snow here?" I asked Margot, as I didn't want to leave the hospital without a doctor, but at the same time it would be best to get the boy home.

"Yes, Dr. Snow arrived twenty minutes ago," informed Margot, suddenly I realized it was a half hour ago, since I should have left.

"Well then I will be on my way" I said, and then said goodbye to her, before I walked to my office and grabbed my coat. I didn't like to leave him alone for long, so I rushed down to the exam room, to find him fast asleep… right where I left him. A little part of me feared he would try to run, which would be a natural reaction after what happened today. He was probably confused, and needed some kind of explanation soon… before he thought he did something wrong.

I thought it was best just to leave the blankets at the hospital, so instead I wrapped him in my coat, very carefully, so he wouldn't wake up. He only moved a bit as I lifted him, and then went back to sleep with his head against my chest. I will be honest and say it was a… unforgettable experience, with the fragile small head against my chest, and his warm cheek against my cold body.

I carefully picked my bag up too, that I left in here when I went to speak with Charlie, before I walked out of the door with the child in my arms. He was so small and fragile I would prefer to carry him the next five years, but we didn't get any longer than my car, before I had to place him on the backseat. I knew it would be safer to let him sit, and use a seatbelt, but I was a vampire and a great driver, so nothing would happen to him if he lied down.

He sleepily opened his eyes as I placed him on the backseat, and stared confused on me for a moment, before he finally realized who I was…

"Now home?" He asked sleepily, and rubbed his eyes.

"Not yet," I told him sadly, and watched as his eyes closed again with disappointment.

* * *

So first of all, Edward and Bella has never exsisted in this story… or Bella is mentioned in this chapter, but that's it.

And thank you to my Beta Jules Ann, you make the world so much easier for me.

And please guys, **review**! Share your thoughts, and what you would like to happen :D


	2. Chapter 2

Written by The Blue Darling

Edited by my lovely beta Jules Ann

* * *

 **Chasing The Clouds**

Chapter 2

 _Carlisle's P.O.V_

* * *

The little boy slept through the ride, and didn't even wake when I parked in the garage. He only mumbled something in his sleep as the car stopped, and I silently got out.

To be honest… I had no idea how to tell this to Esme. I knew she would love the child, just as I did, but would she tear me apart because I didn't call or ask her first? Men may have been the leaders once, but times changed, and so did Esme and I. She was the real leader… at least when it came to our everyday life, my only comfort I was the coven leader and had some influence.

I could hear the water was running upstairs, which meant she was in a shower, and wouldn't be down to say hello for a few minutes.

Carefully I opened the door to the backseat and picked him up; still making sure my coat was wrapped protectively around him. He looked like a sweet angel asleep, and his mouth was formed as a small O that looked so adorable. If it wasn't because he was so skinny and dirty, he would look like any other child, but I still felt this child was much more special.

I carried him into the kitchen, and then further into the living room where I laid him on the couch. Instead of my coat, I placed one of our blankets on top of him, and a pillow behind his head. I knew we had several free rooms, with real beds, but for now I would like to be near, just in case he woke up and was confused.

Esme had decorated all our houses from the moment she stepped into my life, and this house was no exception. Just like times changed, so did her style, and this house was a combination of old and modern furniture's. Nothing was in cold or hard colors, and even the walls were decorated in a warm beige color, that suited the rest of the house. There was actually nowhere in the house, were you could find anything black, as most of the colors were brown, green… and other colors that would match an autumn theme.

With a sigh I sat down in a chair beside him and stared thoughtful at him, as I wondered what would be my best move.

Should I just go up and confess to Esme before she met the child?

Or should I let her see him first, and then explain the situation?

Right now I could hear she just stepped out of the shower, and as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't stop time, so I needed to take a decision. She would love the child, no doubt about that, the question was how much she would love me the next few days.

What did I get myself into?

With a groan I pinched my nose, frustrated because I never really thought this through, but on the other hand couldn't say I regret it. I know it was a last minutes decision, I didn't sit down and think all the possible outcomes out, I just said yes because my heart said so.

And now I was here, with a sleeping unknown boy, and a wife upstairs who had no idea what a surprise she was in for.

So perhaps I would be best to go up and talk to her. Then she would have time to hiss at me, before she came down and met the boy… he would probably be scared if he woke up and saw her angry. I could only imagine he was use to angry people, or people yelling or cursing… at least his behavior showed that, but I wanted this place to be different for him.

Unfortunately, I didn't make that decision fast enough.

"Carlisle is that you?" I heard Esme call, as she walked down the stairs, with damp hair and a confused expression. "Why can I hear a heartbeat?" She asked, as she saw me from the bottom of the stairs… still not seeing the boy.

Of course she would hear the heartbeat… idiot!

Thankfully none of this woke the boy, and silently I guided Esme into the kitchen, before she saw or woke the boy. She looked clearly confused as I closed the door behind her, but then it changed to a more demanding tone… perhaps because she could sense I did something I shouldn't.

"What's going on, and where is that heartbeat I can hear?" She asked, with her hand crossed over her chest… giving me that stern look the kids always got.

Esme knew me better than everyone else, and sometimes it felt like she could read my mind. The truth was we had been together for so many years, and could read my face well, just like I could read her.

But every part of me loved her, even my dead heart. I wouldn't replace her with anyone else, and if she disappeared I would be lost forever. Emmett maybe thought Rosalie was the most beautiful person, with her blonde hair and skinny body, but no one would ever be more beautiful than my Esme. Her hair was a river of caramel in my eyes, and her huge eyes made her so innocent and lovely to look at, not to mention her curved but slender body. She was my Esme…

Even when she was mad… something that would happen soon.

"Listen Darling, I can explain this," I began in a hushed tone, to make it clear we should be quiet.

"Why are you nearly whispering?" She cut of confused and listened again. "And I can hear a heartbeat in our living room…. Why is there a heartbeat in our living room?" She asked for the third time, and was about to open the door to look, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Listen, you have to listen, and we are whispering because someone is sleeping in there," I told her, and realized that only would lead to more questions.

"Sleeping?" She asked surprised, and looked worried. "Did something happen… Is someone hurt?" She questioned, but it was clear she couldn't get why there was a human… We didn't exactly have any human friends in Forks.

"No one is hurt… he is just tired…" I answered, and was interrupted again.

"He?" She asked. "Who… who is _he_ , someone I know? And why are you even so late, you should have been home nearly an hour ago!" She complained, a bit like a mother would do, and I felt like a teenager… who was being questioned about their whereabouts.

"Just try to listen," I sighed, and looked deep into her golden eyes. "I would have been home earlier today, and I promise to tell you the full story, but we have bigger issues for now. All that you need to know is Charlie brought a young boy in whose mother had been caught stealing, and was at the police station. The boy had a scrapped knee, so Charlie brought him to me… and asked me to take care of him… he is only three or four, and he had nowhere else to go," I tried to explain, and could see how Esme's face got even more confused.

"So there is a human… a small child in our living room… that we are supposed to take care of?" She asked slowly, and looked at the door, like she expected something was about to happen. "I thought the social service took care of those things?" She asked, now a bit angry as things began to make sense.

"Yes umm… social service should have picked him up, but Charlie called them, and they couldn't come before Friday, as no one has time to make such a drive," I explained, and knew this didn't justified why I brought him here, or why I didn't ask her first.

"But it's their duty to take care of these things," she argued, still very confused. "I don't even get how he ended here… shouldn't Charlie take care of him or something?" She asked, and was thank God not very angry yet, but this discussion wasn't over.

"Yes, but social service isn't working very well for the time being, and they just told Charlie the boy was his problem, until Friday," I explained, and tried to make some kind of strategy in my head, but it was impossible.

"But how did he end up in our house? Couldn't Charlie take this _boy_ with him?" She questioned, clearly beginning to be upset.

Well perhaps this explanation would help her a bit.

"Listen Esme" I sighed, and took her hand in mine as I needed to feel her being close. "This boy… he is only four, and he is _very_ shy. He doesn't speak very well, and is in a state of confusion and shock. He doesn't really understand what's happening, and why he can't go home… he really needs a quiet place full of love," I tried to explain, and could see Esme's eyes soften a bit. "Charlie wanted to take the boy with him, but he has two teenagers at home and I don't think the boy would be very comfortable there. He wouldn't even talk with Charlie at all, while he gave me a few words… which is a start," I sighed, and was frustrated about this… about how little he spoke.

It took a few moments before Esme said anything. She just stood there and stared on me for a minute, before she finally collected her thoughts and spoke.

"So let me see if I get this right," she said, and took a deep unnecessary breath. "Charlie arrived with a young boy at the hospital, whose mother stole, and was at the police station. For some reason he scrapped his knee, and needed to have a doctor see it, then Charlie told you social service couldn't get him before Friday, and it would be a good idea if _we_ took care of him until then…"

"Well, yes that is correct, but…" I began, but was interrupted.

"Not to mention this _boy_... doesn't speak very much, and is _very_ shy," she added. "What were you thinking?" She finally exclaimed, a bit too loud for my liking, but it didn't sound like the boy woke up.

"Esme I know it was a rash decision… but… I just couldn't say no, okay. You haven't met him yet, but he is just so innocent, and lonely… I couldn't leave him with anyone else," I tried to reason, even though these excuses would make no difference.

"But what about the Volturi?" She questioned, and had a huge good point. "What about our laws? Our family is already taking enough of Aro's attention because of our size, if they find a boy in our custody… Carlisle they won't just stand by and watch!" She said… near tears, as we both saw pictures of our family ripped apart, literary.

"Esme the boy won't know anything," I tried to calm her. "It's only a few days, and when those days are over he will be moved to a nice family. We just need to act like humans… and he is a kid anyways, he won't notice anything" I smiled, and thought this would help. "And I haven't seen the Volturi for centuries, what reason should make them show up now?" I reasoned, and kissed her hands. "Why not just enjoy this, and feel like parents for once,"

I think that did it as Esme softened up, and got this… happy look on her face. Esme more than anything wanted a child, and we both knew there wouldn't be many opportunities, so these few days were better than nothing. I still had a lot to explain, and she was probably still angry on me, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Well… I guess we can try," she sighed, and looked over at the door. "What's his name?" She asked, and was clearly ready to meet him…

Oh well, here it goes.

"Well umm that's another thing you need to know," I sighed and tried to find a good way to say this. "The boy… he has no name, at all," I said sadly, and could see how her face changed from confused to angry, to confused again.

"What do you mean, he is four… everybody has a name at that age!" She exclaimed confused, and looked a bit hurt too, just as I felt when he told me.

"Well his mother, I fear she has neglected him in many ways, and when I asked him what he's name was, he said he was _no one_. His mother just called him _boy_ , so I guess sweetheart and honey will do for now," I said sadly, and could see Esme was now feeling extremely protective of the boy.

"Poor thing," she muttered and shook her head. "How can a child grow up without a name…" she said again, still confused and shocked.

"I don't know," I sighed. "But let's not focus on that right now. The boy is really tired, but we need to wake him and make sure he eats before bed. He also needs some real clothes and a bath… so I think we have to get to work" I said, and knew the next few hours wouldn't be fun for him.

"I can run to the nearest store, and buy some clothes," offered Esme. "He will probably be more comfortable with a male, and someone he actually know a bit, so I think it's best you give him the shower" she said, and I had to agree on this…

Even though I never had tried to bath a child before, I guess that was going to be a special experience.

"Well then let's wake him, and get you introduced, before we get to work?" I suggested, and together we walked into the living room.

The child was still sleeping peacefully on the couch, and I felt bad because I had to wake him, but he was in need of a shower, clean clothes and food. Esme stayed a bit behind, as I went over the boy and sat down at the edge of the couch.

"Sweetie it's time to wake up" I carefully called, and touched his cheek with my fingers.

Slowly he opened his eyes tired, and looked into my eyes, blinking a few times. It was clear it took him a few seconds to recognize me, before he slowly tried to sit up and rubbed his eyes. I think he most of all wanted to go back to sleep, but he was at a new place, and it was understandable if he was confused and curious.

"Hey there Buddy, did you have a nice nap?" I asked with a smile, as I really just wanted to let him sleep, but couldn't.

The little boy looked confused at the couch and the blanket, and then up on me to ask where he was. He could clearly not remember much, and he was now clearly awake, probably because he was scared.

"Going home?" He asked sleepily with a yawn, and I began to wonder why he wanted to go home… did he leave something behind?

"No, not right now," I told him sadly, and couldn't figure out if I should tell him the truth, or let him believe he would go home. "Right now you need to stay at my house for a few days" I told him instead, and tried to sound excited… but his face looked so sad.

"But… then home?" He asked, and didn't sound happy about staying here.

"I don't know that yet," I told him, as I couldn't make myself tell him the truth. "But let's talk about that later, right now I would like you to meet my wife, Esme," I told him, and picked him up before he could protest.

His eyes got as big as teacups, when he saw Esme was in the room too, and shy, he buried his face in my neck.

Esme on the other hand had watched us silently until now, but a huge smile was on her lips. She didn't have to tell me she thought this boy was adorable, as every part of her glowed at the sight of him, and I knew more than anything she wanted to hold her. Unfortunately this boy was terribly shy right now, and tightens his grip around my neck, like I was going to leave him.

"Hello there sweetie" cooed Esme, and touched his shoulder carefully… which made him tighten his grip around my neck painfully. "My name is Esme" she said softly, and no matter what this boy did, Esme would see him as totally adorable and cute.

"Come on buddy, you can say hello," I encouraged him, and tried to get his head away from my shoulder. It was better he got past this shyness now, or things would get complicated later.

Slowly his cute innocent blue eyes looked into mine, to see if I was serious, before he slowly turned his head toward Esme.

"Hello," he said softly, and pressed his body even closer to mine, but at least he looked at her and talked.

"It's so nice to meet you," smiled Esme, and touched his cheek carefully, something that was a bit more than what he could take, but he accepted it.

I wondered what Esme saw right now? A small dirty boy, who was starved and in need of a shower, or did she just see a little child in need of love, or perhaps both?

There was an awkward silence, were Esme expected the boy to answer, and the boy looked on me for help. It was clear he was tired, and had been through too much today, so to break the awkward silence, I decided to get to work.

"Well buddy I think it's time for you to get a bath," I told him, and heard a small sigh at that from the same person.

"Sleepy" he told me, and tried to get out of my arms… perhaps to sleep again, but I couldn't allow this. He was in need of these things, badly, so he just had to survive a few hours more.

"Sorry, but bath and food first, and then you can go to sleep," I told him as I carried him upstairs. I gave Esme a small smile, just before we disappeared, and she smiled back. A few seconds later I heard the front door close, and knew she was on her way to buy some new clothes.

"But bed!" the boy tried to exclaim, as we reached the second floor, and I walked toward my study. He clearly thought I didn't understand what he meant, and even though he deserved sleep… even needed it badly, there was other things we needed to do first.

"Sorry I am not going to change my mind on this," I told him, as I carried him into my study, and placed him on my desk. As soon as I turned around to get a thermometer from my cabinet, I heard his small feet land on the floor, and grabbed him just before he would have run out of the door.

"Not so fast!" I told him, now a bit more firm, as I carried him back to the desk. "I need to take your temperature first, and then it's a bath for you young man, don't try to run again," I told him, now a bit stern, as it didn't help the first time.

Irritated he sighed, but didn't say anything, and I quickly took his temperature. It was most of all to check if his temperature was back to normal, and make sure he didn't have any fever. Luckily everything was as it should, and I carried him to the bathroom, so we could move on with this.

I decided it was best to use Esme's and my bathroom, since the guest bathroom didn't have a tube, and I wasn't going to even try with a normal shower. This bathroom was also bigger, and there would be more space, which was needed when you tried to bath a small child.

"So why don't you just get your sweatshirt off?" I suggested, and placed him on the floor. The door was already closed, so it would be stupid of him to run, and I would catch him anyway. He looked really annoyed and irritated, but I decided to turn around and give him some privacy. Perhaps he would do as I asked, if I just acted like it was nothing, and I began to fill the tube instead.

While it filled I walked over to the sink, and looked in the closet underneath to see if we had any new toothbrush. If not I had to call Esme and ask her to buy one, because his teeth was in need of this badly, and thankfully I found one.

But as I turned around I saw he hadn't moved since I placed him on the ground, and was looking irritated at me. He was clearly getting frustrated and angry; most of all because nothing made sense to him, and he must feel no one understood him.

"Bed," he said, nearly in tears, as he crossed his arms and looked on me with eyes that could melt my heart.

"I know," I said as I turned off for the water because the bathtub was full. "But it has to wait a bit," I told him, and kneeled down so I was on his level. "Now, let me help you with that," I said to him, and helped him out of his sweatshirt.

I allowed him to keep the rest of his cloths on, as I lifted him up, and placed him on the sink.

"Now open your mouth" I ordered, and showed him the toothbrush…. not that it made anything better. He just began to complain instead, and tried to move his head away, until I gave him a stern look, then gently grabbed his head.

As I started brushing, I realized just how long it had been since someone did this, and he had to rinse five times. At last his breath finally smelled somewhere near normal, and I decided it was enough for today. He was on the edge of giving up, and just crying, so I lifted him down from the sink, and promised myself to find a dentist soon.

It turned out he was too tired to do anything, and I ended up taking his clothes off as he wasn't going to do it on his own. I most of all wanted to throw the clothes out, but made myself save them, as Charlie probably could use it as evidence. It at least showed how little he was dressed in, especially since it here in November was freezing cold. There wasn't even a coat, just his sweatshirt, and a T-shirt, not to mention his shoes were a bit too small and outworn.

As much as it angered me, I decided to think about it later, and began to bathe the poor boy instead. He was beginning to get too tired to fight, and sat still as I poured water over him, and tried to get him as clean as possible. It was much harder than I first thought, as it had been a long time anyone did this, and I had to wash his hair three times before it was clean.

And the water seemed brown no matter what I did, and how many times I changed it. For some reason it just wouldn't get clean, until the fifth or sixth time, when the boy was somewhere more pink, and ready to get out.

After I dried him off, I wrapped the towel around him, and asked him to wait a moment. It was only an hour since Esme left, but a few minutes ago I heard her come back, and she had left ten bags in our bedroom…

 _TEN_ bags! How did she buy so much on so little time? From the logo's I could see these shops were in Port Angeles, so my only guess was she ran in vampire speed… but still, how did she manage?

Thankfully she had laid pajamas on the bed, along with a robe so he wouldn't get cold. I was glad I didn't have to search through all these bags, just to find one object, and I guess I had to speak with her about the amount. For a few days this was way too much clothes, but I guess he could take it with him, when he left… but still.

"So look what I found!" I smiled, and showed him the clothes as I returned to the bathroom. He was still standing on the exact same spot as I left him, and it was clear he couldn't stay up much longer. He didn't even react when he saw the clothes, and there was no sign on happiness.

When he was dressed, and looked warm enough, I quickly combed his hair before I carried him downstairs. He was already half asleep against my shoulder, as we reached the kitchen where Esme was cooking, and turned around when she saw us.

"There you are handsome," she smiled, and for a moment I thought she was speaking about me, but then I realized it was the boy… of course he got the attention.

The boy however, didn't care, as he just stared tired at her and yawned.

"OH," she cooed, and kissed his forehead, before she turned back to the stove. "Food will be ready in just a moment" she promised, and I watched her with a smile, before I turned my attention back to the boy.

I tried to make him sit down on one of the bar stools, but he just complained, and tightened his grip around me. He didn't say anything I understood, but every time I tried he would refuse. As a vampire it was piece of cake to make him sit down, but I didn't like to use my strength, not when he looked so uncomfortable.

"Come on buddy, you need to eat" I tried, and could see Esme was watching us with curiosity, as she placed a plate of lasagna in front of us.

"No!" he told me firmly, and buried his head even deeper in my neck. "Bed!" he then repeated once more, and took a small fist on my shirt.

The real problem was he was very tired at this point, and even though he was hungry, I guess sleep came first. He was actually so tired he couldn't say a sentence anymore, and was only using single words, like _no, bed, sleep_ and whatever else he knew how to pronounce. I knew it was hopeless to ask much more of him, so with a sigh I sat in the barstool, with him on my lap.

"I promise you will go to bed, but food first," I told him, and removed his fist from my shirt, before he got an even tighter grip.

"Bed!" repeated the boy, now frustrated, as I pulled his body away from me, so he could eat.

"I know," I said and gave him the fork. "But eat this first, then I promise you will go straight to bed," I told him, and didn't even need to look on Esme, to know she thought this was cute.

With a sigh he gave up, and began to eat slowly. It didn't look like he had much appetite, or perhaps he was just tired, but he ate most of it. Both Esme and I began to talk softly, to make him feel less watched, and Esme even began to clean up… to give him so privacy. He sat on my lap the whole time, and as soon as he was finished he leaned his head against my chest, and sighed.

"Sleepy," he muttered, as I cleaned his face of any food, and wondered how it could be everywhere.

"Yes now it's bedtime," I smiled, and didn't have to say more, before he was sound asleep with his head against my chest. I carefully ran my hand through his hair, and smiled, before I looked up on Esme who was smiling.

"He can sleep in the guestroom beside our room," she whispered, and touched his cheek carefully.

Together we walked upstairs, and made sure he was comfortable. He didn't wake at any point, so we had to remove the robe and socks, not that it seemed to bother him, as he was sound asleep. The guest room wasn't exactly big, but his small body made it look so big, and the doubled bed suddenly seemed to eat him with all that space, but at least he looked comfortable and warm.

We both gave him a kiss on his forehead, before we went into our room, just beside his. This way we could watch him, and make sure he didn't wake up in the middle of the night…

Not that I thought he would.

Now there was only once thing I needed to do…

Explain all of this mess to Esme.

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So a cute chapter... or at least i think so :)

Thanks to those who have reviewed or just read this :) Your support means a lot, so please review, and make me want to write even more :D


	3. Chapter 3

Written by The Blue Darling

Edited by my beta Jules Ann

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Chasing The Clouds

Chapter 3

Carlisle's P.O.V

* * *

"Poor thing," muttered Esme sadly, as she shook her head. "How could she even make herself place those horrible drugs in his bag?" she asked, mostly to herself… not that any of us could give an answer, at least not one that would bring justice.

"No one would suspect a child would carry drugs," I explained again, not because she had forgotten… but because I needed to hear it myself. "He is the image of innocence, and no one would have seen it, if she wasn't caught stealing," I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose.

It was many hours ago I told her the whole story, how I met him, what Charlie told, and everything the boy said or did not say. I didn't leave one detail behind, not to mention my feelings and thoughts, and these hours has been about one topic…

The boy.

We even considered who he was, or if he had any family out there. I couldn't imagine, since I never would leave my nephew, son or grandson in such a condition, and in my eyes his mother wasn't a fit mother.

To say Esme was shocked is an understatement… she was horrified after I told her the story. Her heart was bleeding for the young boy, and I think we both just wanted to cuddle him in our bed, until he was surrounded by love.

But instead of him, there was an empty space between us, as we lay there and waited. The clock was already at ten in the morning, but he was still sleeping deeply in the next room, and didn't wake at any time during the night. His heartbeat was beating slowly, almost calming, and made me think he was in peace and sleeping comfortable.

"But how can a mother make herself do that?" asked Esme, once again frustrated because this woman had a child, and then did something so horrible. Esme's dream was always to have a child, and when she got a small boy, he died a few days after… because he was too fragile. I knew she hated to watch parents get children every day, knowing it never would be her, and many of them weren't fit to be parents as she was.

I understood her only too well.

"Esme my love… I don't know," I told her sadly, as I took her hand because I needed her comfort too. "But what I do know is he is safe right now, and we will take great care of him," I promised her and kissed her hand to seal my promise.

Esme seemed to accept that, and for a moment we just enjoyed each other's comfort, before a thought hit her.

"We really have to find some kind of name," she muttered thoughtful, and looked on me. "We can't just call him _boy_ and _sweetheart_ forever, so do you have any ideas?" she asked, and even though I agreed I was twisted about this.

Of course he needed a name, but did we even have the authority to do this? And perhaps this would be a step too far? I mean giving someone a name is a huge thing, that only a parent or close person should do, and sadly this little guy didn't have any of it… but still, should we name him?

"Esme I think there is someone else who should do that," I tried, and didn't feel comfortable about this. Should we just call him _George_ or someone the moment he woke up? Or would he like to choose himself… he was four after all, so perhaps he would like to choose on his own?

But then again, if he wanted to be named _Batman_ or something, it wouldn't be such a great idea.

"Carlisle relax," sighed Esme, and gave me one of her huge smiles, that told there was no discussion… she would pick this name with or without me. "Who say's the next place he will go care about it, and just pick something random… at least he will remember us for this, and know someone thought about it," she tried, and I had to admit she was good… but still!

"But sweetheart… what if someone else in the system has already picked a name?" I suggested, and knew I was getting nowhere with this.

"Carlisle he isn't even in the system yet," she argued and crossed her arms… why does she have to be so stubborn sometimes?

"I know… but still, he should pick his own name, or at least help choose," I tried, and knew this was a stupid fight because she would win.

"Well then let's choose some names, and then he can pick?" she suggested, and her head was already full of ideas.

"Alright," I sighed, and thought I could talk her out of it later… at least before she talked with the boy about it, but it wouldn't harm to come up with some names… right?

"So what do you think would fit?" she asked, and began to run her hand through my hair… a bad habit she did when she was thinking hard.

"Well… as a human I always wanted a child name Gilbert," I remembered, and felt how her hand suddenly stopped in my hair.

With disbelief in her eyes, she slowly looked at me, to ask if I was serious.

" _Gilbert_?" she asked slowly, and raised her eyebrow. "Carlisle he doesn't look like a _Gilbert_ at all!" she exclaimed, and shook her head like I was an idiot.

Well I guess it was worth a try.

"Well what about Arthur?" I tried, and thought that would be a cute name, but I was as wrong as you could be.

"Carlisle this is not _King Arthur_ and the round table we are talking about," sighed Esme, like I was stupid or something.

"Well what about Oliver?" I suggested, and didn't realize how sad that was in its own way.

"I don't want to compare him to _Oliver Twist_ ," she told firmly, and even I didn't want to compare him to that, so we quickly agreed.

"Well what about Adam?" I tried, feeling completely helpless as nothing seemed to be perfect enough.

"Carlisle, he is defiantly not an _Adam_ , it's too common," she sighed, and I suddenly felt this was going to be a long morning.

It went from Owen to Jack, to Jamie to Carlisle Jr. and so on. Nothing was just perfect enough, and everything I suggested was turned down immediately… including Carlisle Jr, no matter how cute it was, or at least I thought so. Esme tried with names like John, Robert and Thomas, but all of it was too old fashioned, and didn't suit him at all.

At last we ended up with Henry, Louis, Wallace and Hubert, but none of them felt just right. I admit many of them were great names, but they just didn't suit him right… like something was missing. But at least we agreed on those names, and decided to wait a bit; perhaps something would come up on its own.

Around eleven we could finally hear he was beginning to wake up, and we decided it would be best if I helped him get up, while Esme made breakfast. I gave him a few minutes to wake up, before I decided it was time, and carefully knocked on his door. At first I hoped he would answer and tell me to come in, but as the seconds ticked by I realized it wouldn't happen. Instead, I just opened the door, and saw he was sitting in the bed, looking curious on me.

He still looked tired, like he wasn't fully awake yet, but clearly much better. His hair was a bit of a mess, but he looked well rested, and ready to explore a bit. He rubbed his eyes tired, and yawned loudly, but apart from that he looked awake and comfortable.

"Good morning buddy," I smiled, and sat on the bed beside him. He looked a bit confused at first, before he remembered who I was, and a sad expression went over his face, as he probably remembered everything that happened yesterday. It still surprised me a bit he hadn't asked for his mother yet at all, but I could only guess she had been a bad mother.

"Hey," he muttered, and sent me a small smile… like he was trying to tell me it was okay.

"So how are you feeling today?" I asked, and placed my hand on his forehead, to check if there was any fever, but thankfully there was none. He looked a bit shocked when I touched him, and for a moment I thought something was wrong, before he grabbed my hand, and studied it closely.

"Cold," he said confused, and pointed on my hand.

Oh so he noticed that.

"Yeah, my hands are pretty cold… I guess some people just is that way," I smiled, and thought this was much easier than explaining an adult why my hand were so cold.

"Freez… "The boy closed his eyes, as he tried to find the word he was looking for. "Chilly?" he then said instead, and was clearly trying to ask if I was freezing, but once again he wouldn't use a word he didn't know how to pronounce. I decided now would be a good time for him to learn something new, and it was clear he knew the word; he was just scared to say it wrong.

"I think the word you are looking for is _freezing_ ," I smiled, and took his small warm hands in mine. "Now I know it's hard to pronounce new words, but why don' we try to say _freezing_ together?" I suggested, and hoped he would feel more comfortable if we both said it. "Now try with me _Freeeziiing_ ," I tried, but it was only me who made any kind of sound.

The poor thing was just staring at me scared, like he didn't dare to try, and I could see a single tear was running down his cheek.

"Can't," he sniffed, and moved a bit away from me… just great Carlisle, just great.

"Come on little man, it's not that bad," I tried to convince him, and squeezed his shoulder, before he could move further away. "We all have to learn new words now and then, and it's rarely you say it correct the first time, no one is going to laugh of you, it's just you and me right now," I promised, but it wasn't really working.

"I can't," he told me again, and shook his head sadly, as more tears rolled down his cheek.

"Yes you can, I know it," I tried, but it was impossible to change his mind. "We could try it together?" I suggested once more, but it wasn't working.

"No," he told, now a bit stubborn, and changed the subject before I could protest. "Home now?" he asked instead, and of course we just needed to talk a bit more about that subject.

"No, not yet," I said and couldn't make myself lie much longer. "Right now you have to spend a few days with Esme and me, where we can watch movies, play and do all the fun stuff," I told him, and hoped that would make him forget _home_ , but it didn't really help.

"Then home… after stuff?" he asked, really hopeful… I wondered why?

"Is there something important at home?" I tried to ask, and thought he perhaps could tell me more about it, and maybe from that I could find it…

Even get whatever that was so important.

But there was really no answer, and he just looked down on his hands instead, like he was shy about the answer… or scared.

My only real guess was there was nothing at home, except it was home, and the only place he really knew. Thinking on his talking skills, it didn't look like he played a lot with kids on his age, and that meant _home_ was the place he spent most time if not all of it.

"Well let's talk about that later, and get your tummy some breakfast instead," I smiled, as I saw he wasn't going to answer. Instead I helped him with his robe, and got some socks on his feet, before we walked downstairs were Esme was cooking.

As he spotted her, he first stopped up dead in track, and looked scared. He even squeezed my hand harder, like he wanted to make sure I didn't leave, and I wondered what was wrong. He met her yesterday, and she even touched him… but I guess that was yesterday, and he was tired… so it was all over.

Without a word I picked him up, and placed him on the barstool, before he could protest. Last night he was tired, so I allowed him to sit on my lap, but he needed to walk and sit on his own, so with some fuss I finally made him sit down.

"Well good morning sweetheart," smiled Esme, and turned around with a plate on pancakes for him. I think she could feel he was scared of her too, so carefully she walked over and placed the plate in front of him, and didn't try to kiss his forehead this time, but gave him a fork instead.

"What would you like to drink, I have water, milk and juice?" she offered, and I thought this would make him take a choice, and perhaps push him a bit… but instead it just made him even more shy.

Because he didn't answer, and looked helpless at me, as to get some kind of guiding… but come on it was a simple choice. The only thing I really got out of this was he didn't get many choices, so he probably didn't get various foods either. Looking on how skinny he was, he probably didn't even get a lot of food.

"Why don' we just try orange juice?" I suggested, and tried to kill the awkward tension, but the poor thing looked ashamed and Esme looked heartbroken because of it.

I guess the morning is starting well.

He ate slowly, and watched both of us like something horrible was going to happen, or we would try to eat him. To make it less tense both Esme and I tried to talk for a bit, about nothing really, while she cleaned up and I read the newspaper. It didn't really work however, and the boy's heartbeat was going faster and faster, making even me a bit nervous.

And after drinking most of the juice, and eating very little he pushed the plate away, clearly telling he wasn't hungry. I didn't like the small amount he was eating, but I guess it was better than nothing, and for now I would accept it.

"Finished?" I asked softly, and tried to make him calm down in some way, but his heart was still beating wildly. I couldn't find out if it was because of Esme, or he suddenly just was nervous, but there was surely something.

"Yes," he nodded, and looked carefully up on Esme. "Thank you," he said softly, and proved he wasn't as scared I thought he was. Perhaps it was more a combination of shyness and confusion, something that easily could be dealt with.

"Your welcome," smiled Esme, suddenly very happy because the boy would speak with her.

"So…" I began, and decided to end this shyness right now, or it would become a problem later. "I was thinking you and Esme should go upstairs, and get you dressed. I need to make some work and a phone call, so perhaps you two could spend some time together?" I suggested, and saw the immediately fear in his eyes.

"No… no you!" he told, and looked on me with panic, shaking his head rapidly to make a point.

"Sorry Buddy, but I need to make some work," I told him, and picked him up. My plan was to give him to Esme, before he got any ideas about running, but he clung to me like glue.

"You!" he repeated, and took a fistful of my shirt.

"No, Esme," I told him, and had to hand him over with a bit force. Tears began to roll down his cheeks as soon as he was out of arms, but Esme began to comfort him immediately, and gave me a confused stare.

"Carlisle this is not a good idea!" she whispered too low for human ears, and tried to rock him back and forth.

"Relax, he won't get any closer to you as long as he can hide behind me," I whispered back, still too low for humans. "And I actually do need to call Charlie, so please just try, he will warm up in a few moments," I promised, and kissed his forehead before I walked away. I could hear he began to cry louder behind me, but this was necessary for him to bond with Esme. I couldn't be there every single moment, and he needed to accept other people, even though he was in a horrible state of life right now.

I left them downstairs, and went up to my office that was on the other side of hall across from our bedroom. Alice and Jasper used to have the room beside, but now they were gone, and I more than once considered to make a small laboratory in there, but we was moving now, so no need.

For the first time since I found the boy, I actually checked my phone. It had been hidden away in my bag, along with all my papers and computer, and I never once checked it because there had been so much else to think on. Now I could see there had been twenty call from Alice last night, and a few texts, all ending up with her saying we were doing the right thing.

I never once considered calling Alice and hearing if she had seen anything in the future, or if she could tell me where this boy would end up. But of course she would see all of this, and call me… or at least try to contract me, but I guess I had been a bit distracted last night. I actually wondering why she didn't call Esme instead, but I guess I would have to ask that another day.

But her text pretty much said we were doing the right thing, and we should do what felt right… I wonder what was behind the last part, but I guess I would find out.

I decide it was best not to call her, as she didn't write it was necessary, and I had my hands full right now. She had classes anyway, so she wouldn't be able to answer, and instead I called Charlie Swan, hoping there was anything new.

"Swan, who am I speaking with?" he answered with a dark tired voice, clearly in need of sleep.

"Charlie, it's Carlisle," I answered, and could hear him sigh in relief… that was never a good thing.

"Carlisle, it's good to hear from you… thing have been a bit of a chaos this morning," he yawned, and took a sip of something I would guess was coffee. "I was planning to call you, but I have been on the phone the whole morning," he explained, and I decided to sit down as I felt this was going to be a long conversation.

"Well anything new then?" I asked, and hoped he could give a location or something.

"Yeah a few things," he sighed. "The woman hasn't spoken a word yet, but we found her in the system, and her name is Carly Parker. She had been suspected for things like this before, but I went through her profile, and there is no mention of a child anywhere. We have her fingerprint and everything, so we know it's her, but the boy does not exist anywhere," he said sadly, and I felt sad too.

Then he wasn't born in a hospital, and had never been together with children his age much. He didn't know what kindergarten was, and no one had tried to teach him anything.

"I see," I muttered. "And she hasn't mentioned him at all?" I asked, and hoped he at least had a name or something, perhaps he just didn't know? But it was a long shot.

"No, as I said she hasn't said a word. The police from Seattle are taking over tomorrow anyways, as she is part of a drug ring and she have a few questions to answer. They even have security tapes from Seattle to here, showing she has taken a bus with the boy. We may even suspect there is some drug dealer here in Forks or La Push… that's the only reason for her to be here," he sighed, and I knew he was giving way too much information, but he was tired, old and outworn… and needed to get rid of this somewhere.

"Well I don't hope so… but I will try and ask the boy a few questions today, perhaps he knows something?" I suggested. "He doesn't speak much, and hasn't said anything useful yet… but I will try," I promised, and would at do what I could.

"That would be nice," agreed Charlie. "I anyway need to interview him tomorrow perhaps… if the guy from Seattle doesn't come first. But honestly I tried to mention the boy five times, and they didn't care… I don't think they see him as any kind of good witness, and said it was social services problem," he sighed, and had clearly used some time on this. "Seattle is just not running very well right now, they have way too many problems," he explained, and I could only agree. I had heard much about them in news, and they were really in need of everything right now.

"Well I think it's best he is kept out of this for now anyway, but if you want to try and interview him again, come by tomorrow, and perhaps he will feel safer here?" I suggested, and hoped it wouldn't' _destroy_ his safety.

"I will come by," he promised. "Now I have to go, but say thanks to Esme from me, and have a nice day,"

"Have a nice day too," I smiled, and hung up.

So just great… the mom still wouldn't speak, was a part of a big drug ring, and I could only imagine how life must have been for this poor boy. It was breaking my heart a little each minute and I felt I had to do something… but what?

With a sigh I decided to make a bit of paperwork, and give Esme and him some time to bond. I wasn't going to work at the hospital while there was a small boy at my house, but it didn't stop the paperwork, and I did all of it as fast as I could. I really just wanted to spend all my time with my wife and the boy, but work was work, and right now I just needed to deal with it.

A half hour later I was finished, and decided to go downstairs and see how things were going. Already as I got near the kitchen I could hear laughter, a good sign, so I could only guess he got over his shyness and fear. As I stepped into the kitchen I found a mess of flour, eggs… chocolate… and only god knows what the rest was. In the middle of all it was Esme and the boy, making cookies.

"Well hello you two," I laughed, and was glad to see both of them smiling. The boy looked almost alive, and Esme was beaming with love, all because they were making cookies.

"Hello to you too," greeted Esme, and gave the boy one of the finished cookies.

To my surprise he split it in two, and ran over to me, smiling from ear to ear.

"Eat," he said, and gave me the half cookie, just as I feared. Human food wasn't exactly a vampire's favorite diet, and I would do a lot to avoid eating it. Of course I would survive, but it was like eating something that just didn't feel natural.

"I ate one, so you better eat one too," warned Esme in a low voice, before I could change my mind, and to please the small kid I ate it, and tried to look happy.

"Mmmm, this is really good," I told him, and swallowed the whole thing as he looked away, before I would have to chew more on it. His hands and face was more or less covered in chocolate, but he looked happy, and that was all that mattered.

After he ate his part of the cookie, I cleaned him up, while Esme cleaned the rest of the kitchen. I needed to ask her later what happened, and how he overcome his fear, as I perhaps could use it when Charlie came tomorrow. But for now we needed to do something else.

"So I would really like if you made me a drawing, of you bedroom at home," I told him, and gave him some paper and pens. I decided it was best to do it in the kitchen, as he was most comfortable here, and hopefully wouldn't notice what I was doing.

"Can't draw," he told me, and pushed the paper toward me. "You draw?" he suggested, but oh no this wasn't going to be that easy. Esme already left, saying she needed to buy a bit for dinner, but I wondered if she was going to shop more clothes… I never talked about that last night.

"No, you have to draw," I told him, and pushed the paper back. "I would really like a drawing of your room, and then I promise to make a drawing of my room, okay?" I asked, and knew he wouldn't know anything was up.

With a sigh he began to draw, and so did I. I made it really simple and childish, or I feared he would stop drawing because he thought I was better. It actually turned out he was okay for his age, considering I wasn't sure he had tried this before, but it looked like he had. Twenty minutes later he was finished, and so was I.

"So, this is your room?" I asked, and pointed toward his drawing.

"Mom's room," he corrected, and I noticed that was the first time he used the word _mom_. He didn't really look comfortable about it, so I wouldn't dig more into it right now.

"So you sleep in her room… and it's your room too?" I asked, and tried to understand. This room on his drawing was very dark and… small. From what I could see he had only made a small window at the top, which could mean it was in a basement, and I wondered where his toy was… if there was any toy.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Then is that your bed?" I asked, and pointed on the only bed there was… perhaps they both slept in that bed?

"No, my bed here," he told, and pointed on a space I didn't quiet understood.

But it was clearly near the floor, if not on the floor… and it looked like…

"Sweetie is that blankets?" I asked, too concerned to even care about if it was too personal, or made him realize what I was doing. Right now I only begged he wasn't sleeping on a _blanket_ , and last night was the first time he slept in a bed. It was unhealthy for him, and his body needed more support than a blanket!

"Many," he corrected, and pointed on his _bed_ again. "My bed, her bed," he explained, and I could guess _her_ was his mother.

"I see," I muttered, and tried to decide if I should ask more… but I just needed to know one more thing. "And where is your toy?" I asked, as I couldn't see any… but I couldn't see his bed either, so perhaps it was there.

But this time the boy didn't answer, and pushed the paper away instead, clearly bored. Or at least he acted like that, but I could see sadness in his eyes, clearly telling me there was no toy, and he knew that wasn't normal.

"Why don't we make another drawing?" I suggested, and hoped to get a bit more information, but he was clearly upset and tired of this game.

"No," he whispered, and jumped down from the barstool. "Something else," he then said, and with a sigh I gave up with the drawings, but at least I got something… just a bit.

We ended up watching TV, or he watched Batman I think, and I read a book, looking up now and then. It had to be his first time in front of a TV, because he was amazed with it, and was glued to the screen. He even laughed now and then, and it warmed my heart to see him play like any other boy. I wasn't going to let him watch cartoons the whole day, but we didn't have any toys for now, so it wouldn't hurt until lunch. A few times he got so exited he barely could sit down, but it didn't matter, because he was happy.

Two hours later I decided it was lunchtime, and since Esme wasn't home, I made a quick sandwich. I wasn't any good cook, but I knew how to make a simple sandwich, and could only hope he liked tomato and ham. He was still watching cartoons as I finished, and it took a bit convincing to get him away, and eat.

"Not hungry," he repeated for the third time, as I lifted him, and placed him on the barstool. He was clearly upset about I turned the TV off, and as nice as it was to see a normal reaction, it wasn't needed right now.

"Well you can't watch TV all day, and it's important to eat mister, so at least give it a try," I tried to convince him, and sat down beside him, so he wouldn't get any escape ideas. He wasn't going to use all his time in front of that device, and I decided some fresh air would be good afterwards.

"No!" he said sternly, and pushed the plate away again, only for me to push it forward.

"Listen you have to eat and you won't leave this chair before you have, so if you want to go play, you need to start eating. I am not asking for all of it, but at least a part," I said sternly, and wasn't going to bend on this. We were talking about his health, and I understood his stomach was small, and couldn't have that much… but he needed to get better.

"Don't want," he sniffed, and tried to push the plate away, but I grabbed his arm before he could do it.

"Buddy you have to eat," I told more softly, as I saw the tears… but I just couldn't move on this one, it was too important.

"Not hungry!" he repeated, clearly very upset, and I began to understand why.

Children sometimes need a nap, in order not to get cranky and upset. I don't know how this guy's sleeping routine normally was, but considered what he had been through, it would only be natural for him to be tired now. So instead of a walk, I decided he clearly was in need of a nap after this, and I needed to breathe too.

"Well I am sorry buddy, but you have to eat, no one is leaving the kitchen before you try, even if we have to wait the whole day," I told him firmly and gave him the half of the sandwich. "Now if you eat this, I will be satisfied," I told, and with a sigh he gave up, clearly frustrated and tired.

These days I just had to be patient.

It took some time for him to finish, and after the half of the sandwich, he was clearly not going to eat anymore. He had to go potty after that, but then he was clearly ready to bed, or I thought so. He was actually overtired and cranky, but he thought it was the perfect time to watch more cartoons, and sat in front of the TV before I could stop him.

"Oh no you don't," I told him firmly, and picked him up from the floor. "You and I are going upstairs, and then I think we need a little break," I smiled, and tried to look excited about it, but even he looked like he understood I was talking about a nap.

"But… no!" he complained, clearly not ready to say words as TV and cartoons. "Fun!" he said, and pointed at the TV, as I carried him away.

"Yes I know it's fun, but right now you need to lie down for a bit, and have a break, it's not healthy with all that television," I told him, and carried him upstairs, and into his bedroom.

"No tired!" he said frustrated and stared at me like I was some kind of evilness.

"Well you are going to take a nap anyway," I told him, and placed him on his bed, much to his protest. I knew from reading that children slept best in a place they connected with sleep, and this was the only place he had slept yet, so perhaps he would more easily accept it was naptime.

"NO!" he complained loudly, and as I said before it was nice to see a normal reaction, but still not needed right now. He was overtired by now, so after taking a deep breath, I tried to deal with the boy.

"Well let's just get these off first," I told him, and took his shoes off, while I ignored his protests. Afterwards I helped him take his sweater off, and then tuck him in, but he sat up every time I tried to lie him down.

"No!" he complained, sat up once more, and kicked the comforter away. Tomorrow I promised myself I would make sure he got a nap before this, so he wouldn't be so overtired again.

"Come on buddy, if you lie down now, I promise to read a story," I told him, and thought a good story would help him fall asleep… or perhaps just a very boring one.

"No, not sleepy!" he muttered irritated and frustrated, and it became clear to me he wasn't going to sleep, at least not as long as I was here. I don't know what he was trying to get out of this, but I decided I had enough of this, and stepped away with a deep sigh.

"Very well, I can't force you to sleep if you don't want to, but you still need to be quiet for a bit, and relax. It's not healthy to be active all day, so for the next half hour you have to be in your room, and be quiet. And don't try to leave this room, before I come and get you," I warned him, and knew he would fall asleep soon anyway, so it was just a matter about time.

Without any further words I left the room, and heared him sigh frustrated behind me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I knew it was only a matter of time before he would be sound asleep, so I decided to go into my office, and read for a bit. That way I could hear him if there was anything, but I was confident he would fall asleep soon.

After reading for twenty minutes, I heard Esme come home, and decided to great her by the door. The boy was not sleeping yet, but I could hear he was quiet, and his heartbeat was slowing down. Knowing he would be asleep in no time, I left him upstairs, and met Esme in the kitchen, where she was unpacking food. It was indeed grocery shopping this time, but I also saw a few bags from toy stores, and was just glad it wasn't clothes this time.

"Hello my love," I greeted, and wrapped my hands around her waist from behind. As I placed my head on her shoulder, I could smell her lovely scent of flowers and vanilla, and inhaled deeply.

"Hello my dear," she smiled, and turned around to give me a quick kiss.

"Where is the boy?" she asked curious, and was already searching for him with her eyes.

"He is upstairs, taking a nap," I muttered, and didn't want to add he wasn't asleep yet, but clearly going too soon.

"Oh poor thing, probably tired after such a long day," she smiled, and ended our moment, as she began to unpack things again. "I brought some toys for him… thought it would be a good idea," she smiled, and pointed on the three bags… full of toys.

"How perfect," I smiled, and informed her of our little… fight today, about whenever or not to take a nap. Esme only smiled as she heard this, as this was a normal reaction, and normal reactions was a good thing. She did however also agreed that he shouldn't watch too much TV, and it would be better if he got some toy when he woke up.

We decided to go out and sit in the backyard for a bit, just to talk for a bit, and enjoy the weather. It was cold for humans, but perfect for us, as the sun was going down, and giving us a perfect view. The boy was sleeping upstairs, so we could just as well enjoy a few moments for ourselves, as we would have our hands full when he woke up.

I even told Esme about my phone call to Charlie, and she was shocked to hear what I had to tell her. Not that it was much, but a drug ring meant bad environments for the child, and his drawing only confirmed the truth. Both of us bled for this child, our dead hearts were beating for once, and I knew both of us would do everything we could to give him a better life.

It was dark when we went inside, only five, but dark, as the sun disappeared early this time at the year. It was about time wake the boy, or he would get even crankier, and wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"Why don't I go upstairs and wake him?" suggested Esme, clearly excited to see him again, and have a chance to play _mom_ for a few hours. I knew this meant a lot to her already, and considered she never really killed me for this, I guess the child meant too much to her right now.

"Of course my love, I will be downstairs," I smiled, and went over to the couch to read for a bit.

I remember I heard her go upstairs, and open a door, but what really brought me back to reality was the few seconds after, when she was back downstairs. Her eyes were big, filled with panic and fear, and if she was a human she would have a heart attack…

"Carlisle he is gone!"

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So hi my lovely readers, thank you for following and favoriting.

Seemes like someone is on his own small adventure?

And what do you think the child should be named?

Please **review** , as it really makes my day, and makes me want to write more and faster

Thanks to my beta again, Jules you are the best!


	4. Chapter 4

Story written by The Blue Darling

Edited by my beta Jules Ann

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Chasing The Clouds

Chapter 4

Carlisle's P.O.V

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"Gone?" I repeated, and stared confused on my wife.

It took a moment for me to understand, but then I finally got it. Suddenly I realized I couldn't hear anyone breathing, no movements… and no heartbeat. His smell wasn't even as strong as it should be, and horror filled my mind, as I finally understood what she meant.

He was gone, as in not here.

In seconds, hundreds of theories jumped into my mind. Maybe his mother kidnapped him, or he wanted to go outside for a bit? Perhaps someone else from the drug ring took him, or he was searching for us? Maybe he was just God damn sleepwalking, and didn't do anything wrong!

Or perhaps he ran away on his own.

Unfortunately I could already guess what the answer was, as his mother didn't know where he was, and he talked about _home_ constantly.

"Are you sure?" I asked, and stood up from the cough in vampire speed. I knew it was a stupid question, but I needed to hear it out loud.

"Carlisle I am sure, he wasn't in his room, and I can't hear or smell him. He must have left through the front door, while we were in the garden." She sighed, and immediately I flashed upstairs, and looked for myself. I knew I should trust my wife, but this was serious, and I just needed to see it for myself.

And the room was indeed empty. The sheets were messed, and the curtains still blocking all life outside, but there was no boy. Even his sweater was gone, which calmed me a bit… as it was cold outside for a human.

But he didn't have any shoes yet, and he didn't have a coat… at least not what he knew of. Esme did buy him both things, but all the bags were still in our bedroom…

So he clearly left the house with only socks on his feet, and a sweater! The only good thing was it wasn't raining right now, but with my luck at this point I wouldn't get surprised if I did soon.

Seconds later I was back in the living room, where my wife was, scared and confused as none of us knew where the small boy was. We were living far away from everything, so he was either in the woods or on the highway… both very dangerous places. Not to mention it was dark outside, and he would be an easy target. Who knew what a four year old could come up with, or think was a good idea?

"We have to call Alice first," I sighed, and wasn't even going to look for him before; as I knew even his small legs would be past our property by now. If Alice couldn't see anything, I would follow his scent, but it would be waste of time.

"I will find his coat and shoes, so we are ready to leave," Esme said, and wasn't even going to consider Alice couldn't see him, as none of us could handle that thought.

As soon as she flashed upstairs, I found my phone in my pocket, and saw their already was two missed call from Alice, just a few seconds ago. I had been so confused and scared I didn't hear them, but that meant she had seen something… good or bad.

She picked up by the first ring, and I felt relieved when I heard how calm her voice was… that meant he was alive and well.

"Hello dad, it's Alice," she answered, and it hit me how long time it was since I heard from her.

"Hello Alice, have you seen anything?" I asked, and didn't have to inform her… I knew she had seen something.

I knew I had to call my children and explain soon. Rosalie and Emmett didn't even know anything about this yet, or that we had a small boy running in our house, something that would make Rosalie return immediately. I wasn't exactly sure how she and Emmett would react, and I wondered if Alice even told Jasper, but there wasn't time for that now, it would have to wait.

"Yes, right now he is wandering around in the forest, close to the highway," she informed me, and sounded rather relaxed, so I could only guess he was well enough.

"Thank God," I sighed, and promised myself to make sure this wouldn't happen again. "Do you know anything about his condition?" I asked, and was preparing myself for what I would find. "He doesn't have any shoes nor a coat,"

"Oh he will be fine… he is a _bit_ tired right now, and cold, but that little thing is really tough," she laughed, and was completely relaxed beside me, who most of all wanted to run out and find him.

"Thank you Alice," I muttered, and saw Esme was standing by the door, ready to go. There was no doubt she had heard the whole conversation, and was more than ready to find the little boy, before he got sick or seriously injured.

"You are welcome dad, oh and by the way, you better call Rose and Emmett soon… before they find out on their own. And don't worry, the boy will be fine, I have seen you find him, so calm down," she ordered almost strictly.

"I will," I promised, and said our last few words before we hung up.

When I finished I looked over on Esme, who looked on me, and for a moment there was silence. I could see this was hard on her, most of all because she was scared of losing him, just like she lost her own son. I didn't really want to admit it, but I was just as scared as her… and I didn't even understand my own feelings yet.

"Let's get going," I muttered, and found my car keys in my pocket. "I want you to take the car, so we can get him somewhere warm as soon as I find him, while I run after him… it will be fastest that way," I assured her, as I could see she wanted to protest.

I knew she wanted to be with him too, and be the one finding him immediately, but we needed to get him somewhere warm. On top of that it was best to follow his scent, if we should find him soon, and he knew me most. Because of that fact it would be best if I ran and she drove, and even she could see it.

"Of course, here take the blanket," she offered, and gave me a huge grey blanket that should keep him warm.

"I will see you very soon," I promised, and gave her a quick kiss, before I ran out of the door in vampire speed.

His scent was easy to find, since he went out of the front door too, and went down our driveway. He was smart enough to stick close to the highway, so he wouldn't get lost in the forest, but still in the forest, so no one saw him. I still wasn't sure why he decided to leave, but I could only guess it had something to do with _home_ , a word I was rather familiar with by now.

Around a mile away from our house, his scent began to get stronger and stronger, and I knew he would be very close. At last he scent was only two minutes old, and I finally spotted him ahead of me.

The poor thing was still walking, but clearly very tired and unstable. I saw how he more than once had to support himself to a tree, and tripped once, only to stand up again and keep moving. He wasn't wearing any shoes as I expected, and it hurt me to see every time his small feet made contact with the forest.

I was somewhere between, angry, disappointed and happy, but most of all I just wanted to get him home. The anger was pointed at myself, because I didn't make sure he was asleep, while the disappointment was toward him, because he didn't do as I asked. The happiness on the other hand was because I found him, and knew he would be safe soon.

"Hey buddy!" I called, and thought it would be best to get his attention, instead of giving him a shock at close hand. It was also to see if he would come to me on his own, or I had to come and get him.

And as expected, he stopped on the spot, and turned around. His eyes got as big as teacups, and it was clear he knew what he was doing was wrong, and perhaps he feared I would be angry, but I would never be angry with him, not for this. Disappointed yes, but most of all I was happy to see him again.

"I was really getting worried for you," I told him with a smile, and tried to look calm… most of all so he would remain calm.

He allowed me to take a few steps, but then suddenly he took a step away from me, and looked on me with huge scared eyes. I never considered there could be a father in the picture, but perhaps he had a dominant strict father? Or was it his mother?

"Hey what wrong?" I asked with a nice voice, and tried to put my own thoughts away. "You know I won't hurt you, I am just here to help you, remember?" I asked, and took such a small step he didn't notice it, followed by another.

He stared on me for a minute, with his huge blue eyes that looked so innocent and was full of so many questions. I could see there was something he wanted to say, or tell me, but it took him a long time, before the well-known words crossed his lips.

" _Home_ ," he said with his sweet little voice, and pointed on the air behind him. "Want home,"

Of course it was about going home… it was always about home, and I didn't surprise me that was the words I would hear. I could only guess he got bored, or his patience ran up, and he thought it would be best to deal with it on his own. What he didn't understand was how far away home was, and he may likely never see it again.

"Your home is very far away from here," I told him sadly, and took a small step. "It would take you days to get there, so why don't you go back to my house with me, and then we can talk about it?" I suggested, and really wanted to get him inside, right this moment… but I couldn't make myself force him.

But it began to seem like the only solution, as the boy walked further away from me, at the mention of going back. In his head there was only one way, and that was to go home to where he lived, nowhere else.

"Home!" he told me firmly, and was clearly not listening to me.

And in a way it gave sense. He was in a state where he was way too tired, cold, and perhaps even hungry. At this point every kid would just want to go home, instead of some strange place they didn't know, and mostly it wasn't easy to argue with them. Most of all I just wanted to grab the boy no matter how much he protested, and then carry him to my home. But I needed to give him a last fair chance.

"Listen kid, it's cold out here, and you are going to be sick if you stay much longer. I know it's not fun to be you right now, and it all seems like empty promises, but you really need to trust me and let me take care of you," I tried, and took a small step forward again.

"But… you said, _stuff_ and home!" Protested the boy, and must have thought _stuff_ was what we did today, so now it was time to go home.

"Yes I know… but all the _stuff_ isn't over yet, and your mom isn't ready to go home either, so you have to wait a bit. Home is anyway too far away for you to go on foot, so come back with me, and then we can talk about it?" I suggested, but I was beginning to realize I wouldn't get far with this method.

"HOME!" He cried out loud, so the whole forest could hear it, and looked on me like everything was my fault. "I WANT HOME!" he cried again, and made it clear he was too tired. I think he most of all wanted to go to sleep, but was past the point where he could see it, and instead he began to cry in frustration. A child didn't always understand their own feelings and needs, and right now this one needed a god night of sleep.

"Sweetie I am sorry, but you have to be patient," I cooed, and I walked closer, as he now completely ignored the distance between us. He didn't even see what I was doing, before he was wrapped in the blanket, and I lifted him into my arms.

"DOWN!" he screamed frustrated, and tried to tear himself free of my grip, but I was too strong for his small body.

"Just a bit longer," I promised, and hushed him, as I walked through the forest. I could hear Esme and the car was near, and saw it parked not far away, with my wife besides, starring worried into the forest. We clearly got her attention, as the poor thing continued to scream, and his head turned almost red.

"HOME!" he screamed with full force, just into my poor sensitive ear, and tried to hit my chest with his small fists. "I WAN'T HOME!"

If it has been any other day, I would have been angry because he was hitting me, but he was young and confused. Right now he didn't understand much, and I could only imagine how it would be to feel alone, confused, and surrounded by stranger. I wasn't a great help either, as I just told him he would go home soon all the time, but never told him exactly when. It was only natural for him to react in some way, even though I would wish the reaction was a bit… less violent and loud.

"I know sweetie, but for now we are going to my home, please try to calm down," I begged him, as I began to rock him forth and back, while I got closer to the car.

"What happened?" asked Esme as we reached her, and saw the now just crying boy in my arms, who was doing anything to get out. His small head was now buried in my chest, while he cried his heart out, over everything and nothing, and I felt hopeless in this situation.

"He is just overreacting… it's has been a too long day for his small mind," I explained, as Esme opened the passenger door for me, to get him into a warmer place. I knew it would be safer for him to sit in the back seat, but I couldn't release him right now, and needed to get him home before he got colder than he already was.

"I guess we better get going," muttered Esme, and closed my door, before she got into the driver seat. The whole time I tried to make calming sounds, hush him, and tell him everything was fine… but nothing worked. He was already past hysterical, and when Esme tried to place a hand on his small arm, he screamed even louder.

"Hey try to calm a bit down buddy!" I exclaimed, almost in panic, as he continued to cry. With my head I motioned for Esme it would be best to drive now, and with a sigh she realized there was nothing she could do, except making sure we got home soon.

I think this was the longest drive in my life. The boy just cried, cried and cried, until I thought there were no more tears left, and he went over to sniff and sob instead. There was really nothing we could do, as I wasn't sure if he even knew why he was crying, and left all of us completely helpless. His small feet were cold, so between the cries I forced him to wear his shoes, along with the coat and blanket, just to get him warmed up. He protested irritated the whole time, and even tried to take the shoes off, but after a few tries he gave up and sank back against my chest.

"Shh, that's it," I muttered, and began to rub in small circles on his arm, as he began to relax. "Just go to sleep buddy, I promise everything will be fine when you wake up," I whispered in his ear, and didn't need to say more, before he was sound asleep against me.

I moved him a bit so he was in a better position, not that it seemed to matter, as he didn't wake up. He had worn himself out through stress and fear, and was in need of a good night's sleep, not to mention some warm blankets. Today had been emotional and stressing for all of us, and I really wanted to do like the boy, and just go to sleep.

Actually I could only describe today as my first day as a parent. Everything had been so confusing and hard, compared to my normal every day, and small decisions suddenly seemed to have huge changes.

"What a day," muttered Esme, as we reached the house, and parked in the garage. "The poor thing more or less cried himself to sleep," she said sadly, and softly touches his arm with her fingers.

"Too much has been going on for his small mind, it will take some time before he accepts how things are," I explained, and got out of the car with the boy in my arms. "Now let's get him to bed… before he wakes up and try to run again," I sighed, and we both went upstairs.

Together we got him out of his clothes, and into his pajamas instead, before we tucked him in and made sure his was comfortable. Esme even kissed his forehead, and ran her fingers through his hair, before she went out of the room, and left me standing in the doorway.

When the boy was asleep, he looked like any other child. No one would be able to see the scars the past had left, or how broken he actually he was… or I at least thought so. When he was asleep he looked so innocent and calm, with his small mouth formed as an O, and his eyes peacefully closed… like he for a moment could forget reality.

I considered if I should take his temperature… just to make sure there was no fever? But his body was warm enough when we arrived at home, and Alice said he would be fine… right? Or perhaps I should just take it to make sure she was right… the future could change.

But I feared the beep would wake him, I promised myself to check on him from time to time. I knew it would have been best to make him eat first, but he was worn out, so it wouldn't lead to anything, except more trouble and a very grumpy boy.

With a sighed I closed the door behind me, and knew it was best to let him sleep. As I turned around I saw Esme was standing behind me… watching me with concerned eyes, and gave me a sad smile as our eyes met.

"Let's go downstairs and talk?" she suggested softly, and accepted my arm as I guided her downstairs. If I wasn't a vampire, I would be sound asleep now, even though it wasn't even close to any bedtime, but this boy was taking all my energy. I was perhaps a vampire, but that didn't mean I could get psychically tired, and sometimes I wished I still was able to sleep… at least for some hours.

When we got downstairs we cuddled up on the couch, and just lay there for a bit. I could only imagine Esme was just as tired as me, but at the same time there was a lot of things we needed to talk about, and none of them were pleasant.

"This has to end," Esme sighed finally, and broke the comfortable silence between us. A part of me wanted it to continue, but I too knew there was important things to discuss.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused, and feared she didn't want the boy anymore… even though I knew that wouldn't be like her, but perhaps this was too much for her?

"The lies," she sighed, and calmed me a bit. "We keep telling him he will go home soon… and as much as he needs hope right now, he doesn't need that kind of hope," she explained. "He keep asking when he is going to go home, because he don't want to be anywhere else, and ran off because things didn't go fast enough," she whispered sadly, and I saw a small tear form in her eyes.

"But dearest… he won't take that very well," I tried to argue, and could only imagine his reaction. "If I tell him the truth… that he probably never is going to return home… sweetheart it's all he have left, I can't break that dream!" I exclaimed, and gave her a pleading look… but it didn't seem to help.

"But he would take it even worse later, if we allow him to dream about this for too long," she pointed out, and was as always right. "It would be better to get the truth out, before he tries to run away again… or something worse. I know this will hurt him, but its better he has us to comfort him, than someone he doesn't know at all,"

"But Esme he would be heartbroken!" I tried, and got scared by the thought of telling him the truth. "If we are unlucky he won't even talk to us anymore, perhaps even be afraid of us…"

"And if we don't tell him, he might hate us the rest of his life, when someone else tells him the truth!" she interrupted, and looked just as sad as me, but at the same time I could see she had made her decision long ago, I just needed to make mine.

"But… perhaps just not tomorrow, he is already so broken," I pleaded, but even I knew I had lost.

"Carlisle," Esme sighed, and looked into my eyes with so much compassion I didn't know what to do. "That little guy is stronger than he looks, and for every day we don't tell him the truth, he will break a little bit more. Right now he is in a very confused state, because he has no idea what is going to happen, and we do nothing to inform him. It's better to tell him the truth, no matter how hard it is, or we risk he tries to run off again... and I don't want that to happen," she whispered heartbroken, and I didn't realize before now just hard this had been on Esme.

"Please don't cry," I muttered, as I pulled her closer, and couldn't stand the thought of one more crying person. The boy had cried enough for all of us today, and if she began to cry too… I wasn't sure if I could hold my own tears back.

I wish I could say I had no idea what was happening, or why I wanted to crying, but I knew it only too well. In twenty-four hours this boy stole my heart, just as he stole Esmes, and all of my thoughts were now only about his wellbeing. It had just been _him, him, him_ all the day, and when he ran away…

I have never been so worried in my life. I feared a bear attacked him, that he got lost, sick, or died in some wired way. I feared something as crazy as other vampires found him, and killed him… or the Volturi suddenly came by.

I was becoming a parent, that was what was happening. Esme was suddenly not my only concern anymore and even thought Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett were my children, they were too old. This little boy was young, and every step he took was my responsibility and concern. A part of me couldn't even let go of him, and if this happened on twenty-four hours… what would then happen on a few days?

I think most people saw him as a brat, or someone who couldn't take a simple order, but the only thing I saw was a boy in need of help. I admit today had been hard, but I wouldn't change any part of it, and would forever cherish this moment in my mind.

But I also knew forever wouldn't be long… only until social service arrived.

I didn't even need to ask Esme, to know she felt the same, but I also knew how risky this was. If I adopted or kept a child in my house… a human child, there was no doubt the Volturi would kill him if they found him. I couldn't expose him to such a danger, not for my own hearts fault, and I knew he would be in better hands with a human family. So for the futures sake I didn't even say anything to Esme, and just tried to calm her down.

"Look we will talk to him," I promised, and knew I had to keep it, but I had no idea how to do so. "Just stop crying, and I promise nothing like this ever will happen again… please!" I begged, and touched her hair softly.

Today had just been so emotional that everyone was ready to cry, and right now Esme was just crying, because she needed to cry. She lost a boy once, and now she almost lost one more, if we hadn't been fast… and so much could have happened. We were both trying to get over the shock and fear, and right now she just needed to cry.

For now I was just going to sit here, with my wife in my arms, and try to tell both of us everything was okay. I could maybe even succeed, and make us both believe it, but I knew reality would knock on our door tomorrow. He would ask once more when he could go home, and this time I had to be honest… for everybody's fault.

With a sighed I leaned back, and kissed the top of her head, as I tried to forget our problems for a while.

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So that was chapter 4, and i really just want to thank you guys for all those reviews! It has been amazing for me! :D And thnaks for all those name ideas, they have really made my mind spin around, and i think i have the name now :D

So this was a bit emotional chapter, with a very tired boy, and it seems like everybody just needs to cry.

Now your reviews is what makes my day, and make me inspired, so REVIEW! :D


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